In The Passionate Teacher, Ron Fried describes the Game of School (GOS) as what happens when teachers and students forsake intellectual work and instead engage in their classes as rituals. Take this opportunity to consider this chapter in light of some of the the other experiences that you've had this semester to answer at least three of the following questions:
What elements of the game of school are you seeing in your placements?
How have you seen teachers fight the game of school in their classes?
What features can you plan into your units that might discourage the GOS?
Finally, what impact will this description of the GOS have on your own approach to teaching as expressed in your teaching philosophy?
What elements of the game of school are you seeing in your placements?
Thus far in my placement I have seen multiple elements from the game of school play out in my classroom. From the students taking any and every opportunity to interject a topic other than the content under discussion, to students using computers for Facebook when they are supposed to be working on assignments. Sometimes my Ct will go along with the attempts to foil learning such as on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. He realized years before that due to the high level of excitement generated by the cross river rivalry football game with Stonington High School and all of the attendant pep rallies and activities that no content work gets done. ON this day he hands out a work sheet that is due on the Monday after Thanksgiving, the students are encouraged to work on it in class but few do, the talk of the period is of beating the bears, decorating football players lockers, the upcoming pep rally any thing except biology.. Then there are days when he totally refuses to "play" the game of school. On those days when the kids attempt to distract him away from teaching content he turns the inquiry into a science related question. So if a student tries to talk about sports he will being the conversation to the science behind the game. It is educational and fun to watch him shut down attempts to play the game of school.
least three of the following questions:
Thus far in my placement I have seen multiple elements from the game of school play out in my classroom. From the students taking any and every opportunity to interject a topic other than the content under discussion, to students using computers for Facebook when they are supposed to be working on assignments. Sometimes my Ct will go along with the attempts to foil learning such as on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. He realized years before that due to the high level of excitement generated by the cross river rivalry football game with Stonington High School and all of the attendant pep rallies and activities that no content work gets done. ON this day he hands out a work sheet that is due on the Monday after Thanksgiving, the students are encouraged to work on it in class but few do, the talk of the period is of beating the bears, decorating football players lockers, the upcoming pep rally any thing except biology..
Then there are days when he totally refuses to "play" the game of school. On those days when the kids attempt to distract him away from teaching content he turns the inquiry into a science related question. So if a student tries to talk about sports he will being the conversation to the science behind the game. It is educational and fun to watch him shut down attempts to play the game of school.